


Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Series: Keith and the Cat-astrophe [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Gen, I dunno if it's T, Keef is darling, Keith and the red lions bond is my lIFE, Team as Family, Violence, fluff n' angst, galra - Freeform, how do you spell decafeeb what the heck coran, its more violent than my usual fare, mama lion is mAD, protective red lion, rating it T just to be safe, why, worried team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 01:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11174439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: When the Galra attack unexpectedly, Keith is incapacitated. The Red Lion has to take some drastic measures due to the absence of the other Paladins.





	Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty

The soft yellow light of Red's pale eyes was comforting in a strange but somehow natural way. Her paladin, her pilot snored quietly between the large white claws of her metal paw. Those parts of her had torn apart entire plants and rent holes through vast ships, spreading destruction and chaos against those who dared resist. Her very form was a sign of fire and terror upon all her enemies and all who flew the banner of evil. A bright, fiery, and invincible beacon of hope- the arm of Voltron itself, the colossal amalgamation of the Lions that heralded justice for the oppressed. Red was a machine built solely for war, yet still she had this potential to be as soft and tender as a mother.

Red purred softly from where she sprawled across her bay in the Castle of Lions, Keith sleeping beside her. The castle was quiet and still and contentment spread like a comforting blanket. All was well.

Until the alarm began blaring loudly, breaking her tired paladin from his restful sleep. Red tensed and began to rise as he bolted for his armor to the sound of Allura's suddenly panicked voice, "Paladins! Galra troops have managed to breach the Castle, a dozen or so are in sections 348, 180, and 213!"

Coran's voice echoed faintly "How the quiznak could they possibly get on board?!"

Allura replied before the coms shut off abruptly and ominously, "I don't know, it should be imp-" the ship shuddered and then the lights went out. The red emergency lights burst into existence. Keith pulled out his bayard, "Section 213 is just outside. Red, I'm going to go check it out."

Red snarled worriedly. Her paladin gave her a rare look of comfort, "I'll be right back."

As soon as he stepped out of the door, she knew it was a mistake. The crimson darkness flared brightly with a haze of purple quintessence charged bullets. The sounds of a gun-sword fight rang out for a few minutes, Red waiting worriedly, already as close to the door as she could get. A thud and then, a voice. It wasn't her Keith, "We've captured one of the Voltron Paladins!"

Red snarled and roared, blind fury almost causing her to rip apart the Castle until she found her cub that attracted an enormous and ridiculous amount of trouble.

She couldn't get to him, she wasn't small enough. The lights at last came back on, illuminating the narrow passageway. Another furious snarl, before she bent, snout to the floor in the hope that she could reach him that way. A Galra soldier had tossed _her paladin_ over his shoulder. Allura had underestimated the enemy force. Thirty-five was more like it, and almost no cover outside. Galra bodies stretched across the floor, the result of Keith's remarkable efforts.

A soldier laughed at her, "Look, the Red Lion cannot get to us!"

She growled and dug at the hole, her claws making dents into the metal before she stopped. Tearing apart the Castle of Lions would doom all who walked her halls. A moment and then, "We can do anything and it couldn't stop us."

Red decided she didn't like where this thought was going. If they even dared to harm him- a cry of pain in a voice she recognized fanned the flames, Red's anger burning hotter. For the first time, she manipulated her very form, calling upon the fantastical extent of her powers causing her to disappear into a ball of scarlet light and flame.

A moment passed before the screams of her enemies rang out in the halls of her home.

* * *

 

Allura knelt over Coran, sighing with relief as her friend came too. She'd expected him to ask, perhaps, what had happened. Instead he stumbled to his feet, mustache decidedly bedraggled from the explosion that had destroyed his console, "Where are those quiznaking Galra?! I'll teach them to mess with an Altean! I'll tie them together like a pack of Yalmors!"

"Coran, calm down," the Princess said gently, "The battle is over. We've won."

His jumpy behavior stopped and he turned, "We- we have?"

Allura laughed, "Yes. We destroyed the device that allowed them to come aboard and we've stopped the invaders. It's alright now."

The Paladins stumbled into the room, wide-eyed and confused. Pidge, Hunk, and Lance seemed to be looking around the room, as if something was missing. Shiro asked breathlessly, "Princess, are you alright?"

"I am quite fine. Thanks to Voltron."

Lance's brow furrowed, "Shiro, he's not here." Pidge chewed on her lip worriedly, "Where could he be?" "What if he's dead?!" Hunk wailed.

"I- is something wrong?"

Shiro nodded anxiously, "Once we took care of the Galra, we launched and destroyed the base that allowed them to teleport. Keith didn't join us."

"What deck was he on?"

Lance shrugged and spoke, "How would we know where mullet was?" just as Pidge said, "Deck 213. In the Red Lion's bay."

The Blue Paladin put his hands on his hips, "How do you know that?"

"I keep an eye on the rest of the crew in case of emergencies, or if I ever need to find you guys. It's a lot easier than wandering around aimlessly, _Lance_."

"Enough. Which Galra did you take out?"

Hunk held out his hands helplessly, "All of them. Decks 180 and 248."

Coran put his head in his hands and, despite his near brush with death, he caught the rather important mistake in their calculations, "Oh, quiznak."

* * *

 

The last thing he remembered was the alarm and the Galra. His brow furrowed in the darkness as he struggled to remember the entirety of the fight. Flashes of purple, snarls, shots. The red lights had strobed like streaks of blood across his vision, darkening the silhouettes of the enemy, only slivers of glowing quintessence showing him where they stood. There had been so many in the hallway, and- and... A tall Galra had grabbed him around the throat when he'd been distracted he'd- he'd passed out, the last sharp noise he remembered was the furious desperate roar of Red.

Which meant he'd been captured.

Was that why it was so dark? No, his eyes were closed. He opened them slowly, prepared to see enemy faces, perhaps if he was particularly unlucky, the jagged fangs of Zarkon himself.

Instead, he saw the pristine walls of the Castle of Lions. Maybe the Paladins had rescued him? No, they'd been busy on their own...

Something green stood in front of him, "Oh, good, Keith. You're awake."

The blurred colors came together to form Pidge, at least ten feet away, "Guys! Keith's conscious!" The other Paladins clustered into view, but none of them came closer.

He managed to croak out, "What happened?"

Allura clasped her fingers together, "Don't move, Keith..."

Pidge scratched the back of her head, "And stay calm. Okay? Just don't freak out." Lance snorted as Hunk spoke uncertainly, "How is she even doing that, Allura?"

"I- I don't know... I didn't even know they _could_ do that."

Coran rubbed his chin, "Well, it's certainly not something you see every decafeeb."

They weren't talking about him. Lance took a single step forward and then the very ground rumbled with warning. Lance stopped back. Keith's eyes widened and his hands tensed, what was he laying on? Was that what they were talking about? Was it some horrible contraption? His breathing sped up as everything seemed to slide into hyper focus. His upper back moved up and down slightly, as if he was laying on something that breathed. Fur tickled the back of his neck and two white paws stretched on either side of him- what-?

Keith sat up slowly and turned, despite the warnings from his teammates.

An overly large crimson lion eyed him with warm exasperated affection. Her underbelly and paws were white, hints of yellow and orange that faded into the clean fur. "Red?"

The lion snorted and then rolled to her feet, sniffing her paladin's head experimentally, "Okay, guys, what? What happened? W- why is there an _actual_ red lion?"

Allura unclasped her hands and ran her slim fingers through her pale hair, "As near as I can tell, Red shifted form in order to protect you."

For the first time, Keith examined the rest of the room. Galra blood painted the walls and bodies splayed across the floor. His stomach turned at the gruesome scene. He didn't dwell on it for long though, because a large sandpaper tongue dragged over his dark hair making it stick up in all directions.

"Ew! Red, what- stop!"

Lance laughed suddenly as he watched his one-sided rival attempt to scramble away from his lion before she chuffed and pulled him back with an impossibly soft paw. Shiro muffled a chuckle as he watched his almost-adopted brother protest against the grooming Red had decided to give him.

"Shiro! Make her stop!"

The Black Paladin, leader of Voltron, held out his hands helplessly, "She's your lion... Or, I guess, you're her Paladin. She wouldn't even let us go near you." The smirk he wore didn't help matters.

Keith huffed and crossed his arms as he pouted sullenly.

Red purred.

**Author's Note:**

> Keith is Red's kitten don't lie to me


End file.
